FIGURE 1.1 People at work Each day millions of workers in America enter a battleeld, but they ght no foreign enemy and conquer no lands. No borders are in dispute. The war they are ghting is against the poisonous chemicals they work with and the working conditions that place serious mental and physical stress upon them. The battle- eld is the American workplace, and the casualties of this war are higher than those of any other in the nation’s history. —Jeanne M. Stellman and Susan M. Daum, in the 1973 edition of their book, Work Is Dangerous to Your Health1(p. 3) 9781449698522_CH01_PASS01.indd 2 12/24/14 10:36 AM CH APTER 1 Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety Learning Objectives By the end of this chapter you will be able to: • Dene the term occupational health. • State ve historical developments in occupational health. • Explain the social and economic signicance of workers’ illnesses and injuries for society. • Describe at least three current issues in the eld of occupational health and safety. • Explain how the core functions of public health (assessment, policy development, and assurance) may be applied to occupational health. Chapter Outline • Introduction • Occupational Health • Landmarks in the History of Occupational Health • Signicance of the Occupational Environment for Health • Twenty-First-Century Occupational Trends and Challenges • The Public Health Model for Occupational Health and Safety • Healthy People 2020 Objectives for Occupational Health and Safety • Summary • Study Questions and Exercises 3 9781449698522_CH01_PASS01.indd 3 12/24/14 10:36 AM 4 CHAPTER 1 | Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety Introduction Occupational health is concerned with protecting the health of workers from diseases and injuries associated with hazardous work-related exposures; in addition, the eld pursues the improvement of the work environment and the promotion of workers’ health in general. As applied to individuals, occupational health is “the ability of a worker to function at an optimum level of well-being at a worksite as reected in terms of productivity, work attendance, disability compensation claims, and employment longevity.”2 Occupational health and safety are signicant to society in view of the large percentage of the population that is currently employed and the numerous waking hours that the typical employed person spends on the job. Given the scale of the workforce, then, occupational health constitutes a major public health issue. Also, occupational health issues can extend beyond the time of active employment. In particular, retired persons may be aficted by the sequelae of work-related conditions acquired when they were actively employed. Since the formation of complex human societies supported by farm- ing and nonagricultural activities, the relationship between work and the health of workers has been a concern for many people: Throughout recorded history, there have been references to work under a variety of conditions. The Old Testament includes rules about safe practices with regards to agriculture and how to treat workers. The Greeks and Romans used slaves, generally those cap- tured in battle, to do both domestic work and to work in especially hazardous conditions, such as mining. The writings of the ancients even discussed some early preventive measures such as using pig bladders to breathe into to avoid dusty atmospheres.3 Occupational health emerged as an important issue for humanity begin- ning with ancient societies; it expanded as a concern in the Renaissance, during the Industrial Revolution, and into the 21st century. Unfortunately, society’s attitudes toward occupational safety and health have evolved very slowly over time, with the economic viability of industry sometimes at odds with workers’ health.4 During the 21st century, global trends such as rapid changes in the nature of work and technological advances are expected to have continuing impacts on occupational health. Adverse health outcomes and worker fatalities are signicant issues for employees in both developed countries and the devel- oping world. One of the most important policy statements for expressing occupational health goals for U.S. workers is Healthy People 2020. 9781449698522_CH01_PASS01.indd 4 12/24/14 10:36 AM Occupational Health 5 Occupational Health The eld of occupational health is concerned with “identication and control of the risks arising from physical, chemical, and other workplace hazards in order to establish and maintain a safe and healthy working environment. These hazards may include chemical agents and solvents, heavy metals such as lead and mercury, physical agents such as loud noise or vibration, and physical hazards such as electricity or dangerous machin- ery.”5 In addition to identifying and controlling job-related risks, occu- pational health specializes in “the recognition, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illnesses, injuries resulting from hazardous exposures in the work-place.”6 (p. 3) The eld maintains an interdisciplinary approach, which includes the application of medicine, epidemiology, toxicology, engineering, and management to occupational health issues within an organizational context. 7 In addition, the eld is closely aligned with the traditional con- cerns of preventive medicine and public health. Linked with occupational health is occupational medicine, “[t]he branch of medicine that deals with the prevention and treatment of diseases and injuries occurring at work or in specic occupations.”8 Other examples of related disciplines include occupational health nursing and industrial hygiene. According to the Twelfth Session of the Joint International Labour Organization (ILO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Committee on Occupational Health (from 1995), occupational health has “three key objectives: 1. The maintenance and promotion of workers’ health and working capacity; 2. The improvement of working environment and work, to become con- ducive to safety and health; and 3. The development of work organization and working cultures in a direc- tion which supports health and safety at work, and in doing so also, promotes a positive social climate and smooth operation, and may enhance the productivity of the undertaking.”9(p. 2) Occupational Safety The term safety refers to “the state of being safe; freedom from the occur- rence or risk of injury, danger, or loss.”10 Occupational safety pertains to “the health and well-being of people employed in a work environment.”11 A safe work environment is free from hazardous conditions that might be linked with injuries and illnesses that originate from the workplace. One method to promote occupational safety is by formulating and enforcing 9781449698522_CH01_PASS01.indd 5 12/24/14 10:36 AM 6 CHAPTER 1 | Introduction to Occupational Health and Safety regulations such as those developed by the U.S. federal government—for example, the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970. Promotion of occupational safety is a systematic process that involves ongoing monitor- ing of occupational hazards (surveillance), hazard identication, commu- nication of information about risks, and collaboration between employers and workers. Occupational Exposures and Hazards Some types of occupational health specialists attempt to nd linkages between specic exposures and adverse health outcomes in the work- place. Occupational exposures “include physical conditions (for example, structural insecurity or decient lighting), physical stress (for example, lifting heavy weights or repetitive strain injuries), physical agents (for example, noise, vibration, or radiation), chemicals (for example, dusts or solvents), biological agents (for example, bacteria or viruses) and psycho- social stressors.”12(p. 7) An exposure “that may adversely affect health” is called a hazard.13 Hazard identication is “the process of determining whether exposure to an agent can cause an increase in the incidence of a health condition (cancer, birth defect, etc.)”14(p. 19) According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, nearly all work settings have associated hazards, even though in some cases they can be minimal.15 EXHIBIT 1.1 provides an example of job-related hazards. Work-Related Diseases The term work-related diseases (or injuries or illnesses) refers to adverse health events that arise from the work environment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration classies an injury or illness as work- related “if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or signicantly aggravated a pre- existing condition.”16 Examples of the main work-related diseases include “occupational lung diseases, dermatological conditions, cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal injuries, disorders of reproduction and develop- ment, noise induced hearing loss, occupational cancer, neurological disor- ders, and psychological disorders.”12(p. 7) The National Library of Medicine points out that in addition to the foregoing adverse health outcomes, other conditions associated with occupations can include lacerations, fractures, amputations, sprains, and vision problems as severe as loss of sight. Also, a wide range of work-related hazardous exposures can occur—for exam- ple, to germs, unsafe substances, and radiation.17 9781449698522_CH01_PASS01.indd 6 12/24/14 10:36 AM Landmarks in the History of Occupational Health 7 EXHIBIT 1.1 Job-Related Hazards Every job has certain hazards. Even a writer can get a paper cut. But did